Accused killer remains in jail

KINGSTON — Accused killer Audelis Cruz remained in Ulster County Jail without bail Tuesday even though the district attorney's office declined to present evidence against him at a preliminary hearing.

BY MICHAEL RANDALL

KINGSTON — Accused killer Audelis Cruz remained in Ulster County Jail without bail Tuesday even though the district attorney's office declined to present evidence against him at a preliminary hearing.

Cruz, 49, is charged with second-degree murder, a felony, in the death of 45-year-old Anita Jacobs-Royer. The Kingston jewelry maker was found dead in her Third Street home Feb. 3.

Ordinarily, not holding the hearing on the murder charge would have required that Cruz be released.

But Cruz is being held on a separate charge of parole violation. Cruz, who was paroled last summer on a first-degree robbery conviction, allegedly violated his parole by traveling to New York City, where authorities found him Feb. 10 on a Manhattan subway platform.

Andrew Kossover, Cruz's lawyer, was critical of the DA's office for not going ahead with the hearing.

"It's contrary to the spirit of due process," said Kossover.

But District Attorney Holley Carnright said the purpose of the hearing would have been "to decide whether to hold' Cruz for grand jury action, and since he's already being held anyway, the hearing was unnecessary.

"Having the hearing would have done nothing but disclose information we're not ready to reveal yet," Carnright said.

While prosecutors do not have to lay out their entire case at a preliminary hearing, they are required to show enough evidence to warrant bringing a suspect to trial.

Now it will be up to a grand jury to decide whether to indict Cruz on the murder charge. Carnright said a date for presenting the case to a grand jury has not yet been scheduled, but they have 45 days to do so.

Kossover also moved to have the murder charge dismissed. City Court Judge Lawrence Ball did not grant that motion.

Police said Cruz admitted to strangling Jacobs-Royer, but so far they have not said why he was at her home or what the motive for the slaying was.

Cruz was identified as a person of interest in the case after Jacobs-Royer's missing car was found parked at an address near a motel on Route 28 where Cruz was renting a room.

mrandall@th-record.com

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